HOME DEPARTMENT

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many invoices were processed by her Department in the last financial year for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: During 2012-13 the Home Office processed 106,388 invoices.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on centrally-recording details of disciplinary cases affecting (a) her Department and (b) its agencies.

James Brokenshire: Discipline cases for the Home Office and Her Majesty's Passport Office are recorded by the Home Office Shared Service Centre (SSC), which is operated by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is required to maintain records of all public complaints and conduct cases and provide annual returns to their governing bodies, which are then published in the public domain.
	The scope of the MOJ SSC service does not cover the other Home Office Executive agencies, who are responsible for keeping local records.

Domestic Violence

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many cases of domestic violence have been carried out by people who held or hold a shotgun or firearms certificate from 2010 to 2013;
	(2)  how many cases of domestic violence involved a legally-held gun in each year in (a) 2013, (b) 2012, (c) 2011 and (d) 2010.

Jeremy Browne: The requested information is not available. It is not possible to identify domestic violence cases from the recorded crime figures returned to the Home Office by police forces as these figures are based on counts of crime under the appropriate offence classification (e.g. grievous bodily harm (GBH) and actual bodily harm (ABH)) and there are no details on the offender-victim relationship. There is also no information on involvement of a legally-held gun or whether the violence was carried out by people who held a shotgun or firearms certificate.

Driving under Influence

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Scotland on (a) the rate of drink driving in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK and (b) the sharing of best practice to reduce that rate.

Jeremy Browne: There have been no such discussions. National policy on drink driving is a matter for the Secretary of State for Transport. The Scotland Act 2012 devolved powers to Scottish Ministers to set, by regulation, the drink-driving limit in Scotland which had been previously held exclusively by the Secretary of State for Transport. It is now for the Scottish Ministers to decide whether to raise or lower the existing limit or to keep it the same. Enforcement of the law is an operational matter for the police.

Public Bodies: Surveillance

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the surveillance camera code of practice which came into force in August 2013 applies to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by public authorities.

Damian Green: The use of unmanned aerial vehicles by public authorities for overt surveillance is within the scope of the surveillance code of practice issued under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Any covert deployment likely to obtain private information would need to meet the regulatory framework established by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many posts in her Department have been relocated from London to each other region in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: Information about how many Home Office posts have been relocated from London to each other region in each of the last 10 years is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

TRANSPORT

Driving: Disqualification

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many disqualification decisions taken in another EU member state have been given effect in the UK under the terms of the 1998 EU Convention on Driving Disqualifications in each of the last four years.

Stephen Hammond: Under the 1998 Convention on Driving Disqualifications, signatory countries may recognise and uphold disqualifications awarded to drivers imposed when driving abroad. However as of September 2013, only the UK and the Republic of Ireland actually do so.
	The full table of disqualifications including the offence codes is as follows:
	
		
			  MR09 MR19 MR29 MR39 MR49 MR59 Grand total 
			 2009 3 — 18 2 1 2 26 
			 2010 8 — 80 3 1 17 109 
			 2011 13 — 78 3 1 26 121 
			 2012 10 2 62 7 4 41 126 
			 2013 5 1 25 5 5 20 61 
			 Grand total 39 3 263 20 12 106 443 
			 MR09 Reckless or dangerous driving (whether or not resulting in death, injury or serious risk) MR19 Wilful failure to carry out the obligation placed on drivers after being involved in road accidents (hit and run) MR29 Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or other substance affecting or diminishing the mental and physical abilities of the driver or refusing to submit to alcohol and drugs test. MR39 Driving a vehicle faster than permitted speed. MR49 Driving a vehicle while disqualified. MR59 Other conduct constituting an offence for which a disqualification has been imposed by the State of offence of a duration of six months or more. 
		
	
	It should be noted that all drivers have the right of appeal although very few actually do so.

Driving: Disqualification

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on which EU member states which have not yet done so intend to adopt the 1998 EU Convention on Driving Disqualifications.

Stephen Hammond: The Department is unaware of any plans by any other signatories to the Convention to adopt fully the instrument.

Driving: Disqualification

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the UK would be obliged to accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of the 1998 EU Convention on Driving Disqualifications if the UK remained bound by that Convention after the expiry of the transitional period provided for in Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties.

Stephen Hammond: On 9 July the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced to the UK Parliament that the Government will opt-out en masse from all pre-Lisbon police and justice measures. This is a decision that flows from the existing treaty and its protocols. The Government also announced that the UK would seek to rejoin 35 measures within scope of the decision. These are set out in Command Paper 8671. The 1998 Convention is not one of these 35 measures and, as such, the UK will not be seeking to rejoin this instrument.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the extra cost of compensation to the owners of the further properties along the route of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 to whom letters have been sent this week informing them that their property will be required for HS2 construction purposes.

Simon Burns: The land and property cost estimate, that will form part of the estimate of expense, is currently being prepared as part of the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill documentation. It will seek to include appropriate allowances for all the properties affected by the scheme. It will be published when the hybrid Bill is deposited in Parliament later this year.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the revised maps showing the extra properties along the route of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 where owners are this week being informed that their property is in some way required for the construction of High Speed 2.

Simon Burns: Revised maps will be prepared and published when the HS2 Phase 1 hybrid Bill is deposited in Parliament later this year.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the use of the Pantone Reactor in vehicles and its potential effect on reducing carbon emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: My Department has made no assessment of the potential automotive applications of the Pantone Reactor.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal helicopter accidents there have been in the offshore oil and gas sector in each year since 1983; and what comparative assessment he has made of the relative safety of helicopters working in the Norwegian oil and gas sector over the same period.

Simon Burns: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Fatal accidents Non-fatal accidents 
			 1983 0 3 
			 1984 1 4 
			 1985 0 4 
			 1986 1 2 
			 1987 0 4 
			 1988 0 3 
			 1989 0 2 
			 1990 1 2 
			 1991 0 2 
			 1992 3 0 
			 1993 0 0 
			 1994 0 0 
			 1995 0 2 
			 1996 0 1 
			 1997 0 1 
			 1998 0 1 
			 1999 0 2 
			 2000 0 0 
			 2001 0 2 
			 2002 1 1 . 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2004 0 0 
			 2005 0 0 
			 2006 1 2 
			 2007 0 1 
			 2008 0 2 
			 2009 1 1 
			 2010 0 0 
			 2011 0 0 
			 2012 0 2 
			 2013 1 0 
		
	
	The CAA has made no comparative assessment of the relative safety of helicopters working in the Norwegian oil and gas sector over the same period and considers that the availability of robust data from other states and the small statistical sample sizes would make any comparisons unreliable. However, the CAA works closely with other National Aviation Authorities that oversee offshore helicopter operations to ensure best practice, and has done so in relation to recent incidents involving Super Pumas. Both the UK CAA and its Norwegian equivalent operate within the same EASA regulatory framework and both are committed to sharing information and learning any lessons from one another.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) employers and (b) trade unions on safety in the offshore helicopter sector.

Simon Burns: The air accidents investigation branch is currently investigating the Super Puma incident which occurred on 23 August 2013. It would be inappropriate for me to comment or discuss the accident while the investigation is ongoing. Therefore the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin) had no recent discussions with representatives of employers or trade unions in the offshore helicopter sector following the accident.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure the safety of Super Puma model helicopters used to transport workers to and from offshore installations in the North Sea.

Simon Burns: The investigation of the recent Super Puma helicopter accident has, to date, not identified any evidence of a causal technical failure. Therefore, at this stage, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), that has regulatory responsibility for the design of the helicopter and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), that has responsibility for the safe operation of the UK helicopter fleet, have no evidence to suggest that there is an issue that should lead to the grounding of the Super Puma model. However, both organisations will continue to monitor closely the investigation as it progresses and take what action may be necessary.

Railways: Europe

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential cost to the UK of EU directives establishing a Single European Railway Area; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: All domestic legislation transposing European requirements is accompanied by an impact assessment which sets out the benefits and costs to the UK. There are a number of instruments which relate to transposition of the EU directives establishing the Single European Railway Area and the related impact assessments are available from the website:
	www.legislation.gov.uk

Roads: North West

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to repair potholes in (a) Rossendale and Darwen constituency and (b) the North West.

Norman Baker: The respective local highway authorities are responsible for the maintenance of the local road network in (a) Rossendale and Darwen Constituency and (b) the North West.
	The Department for Transport is providing over £3.4 billion to local highway authorities in England between 2011 and 2015. This includes additional funding of £200 million allocated to authorities in March 2011 in recognition of the damage caused by the severe winter of 2010-11 and a further £215 million being allocated over the financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15 as announced in December 2012. The June 2013 spending review announcement commits just under £6 billion to local highway authorities in England from 2015-16 to 2020-21.
	Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the revenue support grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither capital nor revenue highways maintenance funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services they provide.
	The Department for Transport is also providing £6 million for the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme. As part of this programme a review was undertaken in respect of potholes and final report was published in April 2012. A follow-up report was recently published and both reports can be found at the following web link:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/hmep/pothole/index.php
	In addition the Highways Agency responsible for the management of the motorway and strategic trunk road network work closely with their maintenance contractors to ensure a safe and even road surface for all road users based on a risk assessment process.

SCOTLAND

Death: Weather

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many excess winter deaths occurred in Scotland in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

David Mundell: The recording of winter deaths in Scotland is a devolved matter. According to the latest figures released by the National Records of Scotland, the seasonal increase in mortality in Scotland in winter 2009-10 was 2,764; in winter 2010-11 was 2,449; and in winter 2011-12 the provisional figure was 1,422.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many invoices were processed by his Department in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The number of invoices processed for the Department for the financial year 2012-13 was 665,587 (excluding GPC Government Procurement Card transactions) total including GPC transactions was 677,566.

Child Benefit

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what alternative support is available to families when young people undertaking apprenticeships no longer qualify for child benefit.

Mark Hoban: We do not provide an alternative to child benefit when a family no longer qualifies for it. Apprentices aged under 19 are paid at least £2.65 per hour (increasing to £2.68 per hour on 1 October). Depending on their income, families may qualify for additional support such as housing benefit or working tax credit. The young adult may qualify for benefits or additional support in their own right, depending on their circumstances.

Children: Poverty

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of additional children who would be living in households receiving below the 60 per cent median equivalised household income if the benefit cap were reduced to £20,000 per annum.

Esther McVey: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Disposable Income

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average disposable income of (a) people with disabilities and (b) people without disabilities in each of the last 60 months.

Esther McVey: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Median household disposable income for the whole population and by self declared disability 2007-08 to 2011-12 in 2011-12 prices, £ per week 
			 £ 
			  Whole population No-one disabled within the family Someone disabled within the family 
			  Before housing costs After housing costs Before housing costs After housing costs Before housing costs After housing costs 
			 2007-08 448 399 489 431 370 334 
			 2008-09 450 394 486 421 383 341 
			 2009-10 454 395 486 421 393 346 
			 2010-11 440 380 472 407 380 334 
			 2011-12 427 367 457 390 378 326 
			 Notes: 1. The table provides median weekly household disposable income for the whole population, for households with at least one disabled member, and for households without a disabled member, in 2011-12 prices, for the last five years for which data is available. 2. BHC refers to income before housing costs while AHC refers to income after housing costs have been deducted. Housing costs include, but are not limited to, rent (gross of housing benefit); water rates, community water charges and council water charges; mortgage interest payments; structural investment premiums (for water occupiers); and ground rent and service charges. 3. The figures provided are from Households Below Average Income (HBAI), which is sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 4. The table provides the median disposable income of households, as it is not possible from HBAI data to determine the median disposable income of individuals. This is because certain income is received by the household rather than by individuals. 5. The figures provided are for whole years; as it was not possible to provide monthly data. This is because the Family Resource Survey is collected once per year, and therefore figures in HBAI are on an annual basis. 6. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1. 7. The median income is the income of the middle person in the population, such that half the population have incomes below the median and half the population have incomes above the median. The median is used instead of the mean income because the mean is affected by outlying cases with very high income values. Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP 
		
	
	For this analysis, disability is defined as having any long-standing illness, disability or impairment that leads to a substantial difficulty with one or more areas of the individual's life. Everyone classified as disabled under this definition would also be classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (and the Disability Discrimination Act which was in force at the time of the survey). However, some individuals classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 would not be captured by this definition, as the Family Resources Survey, the source of the Households Below Average Income series, does not fully collect this information.

Employment Agencies

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff working in his Department are employed through agencies using the Swedish Derogation; how many staff receive less than the living wage; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: There are no staff working in DWP that are employed through agencies using the Swedish Derogation.

Employment: Disability

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) sick leave and (b) health of staff who have returned to work as a consequence of changes to disability benefit.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  in what ways the weekly signing requirement for jobseeker's allowance announced in the 2013 Budget differs from the system in place prior to April 2011 when weekly signing was abolished;
	(2)  when weekly signing for jobseeker's allowance will begin.

Mark Hoban: Under the previous system, all jobseekers routinely moved from fortnightly to weekly signing once they had been unemployed for three months. This additional support only lasted for 13 weeks and took no account of the claimants' circumstances or job readiness. The measure announced in the spending review will result in additional support from the outset of the claim which will be targeted at those who need it most. This support will continue until the claimant either finds work or goes onto the Work Programme.
	The reforms we have announced, included weekly signing, will have a phased introduction from early 2014, with full implementation by April 2015.

Members: Correspondence

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Hitchen and Harpenden of 5 August 2013 on Mrs Pauline Egerton.

Mark Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) replied to my right hon. Friend on 30 August 2013.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of reports of difficulties with the new simpler payment system for pensions and disability benefits, in particular of PIN numbers being overheard by bystanders.

Steve Webb: A robust Identification and Verification (ID&V) process is used for Simple Payment encashment. As well as the 'Memorable Date' that replaces a PIN, the customer must also provide an approved identification document to be checked by the PayPoint agent. PayPoint outlets offering the Simple Payment service are also required to have appropriate arrangements in place to ensure user privacy and security.
	DWP closely monitors the service that customers receive at PayPoint Outlets through our contract with Citibank. The service is working well for the majority of people who need to use it, without the significant fraud issues associated with the cheques it replaced.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of additional households that would be affected by the benefit cap if that cap were reduced to £20,000 per annum.

Mark Hoban: It is estimated that reducing the cap to £20,000 for couples and lone parents would increase the number of households impacted by an additional 115,000 in 2013-14. The cap level for single households with no children is kept constant at £350 per week.
	This estimate is consistent with the data used in a recent ad-hoc publication to estimate the number of households affected by the benefit cap. This can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/households-potentially-impacted-by-the-benefit-cap-2013-quarter-2

Universal Credit

Alistair Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department made of the cost of introducing universal credit by 2010; and what his most recent estimate is of (a) its cost to date and (b) the total cost when universal credit has been fully implemented.

Mark Hoban: In 2010, the projected costs, for the implementation of universal credit were £2 billion across the SR10 years (2011-12 to 2014-15).
	I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne), on 15 May 2013, Official Report, column 329W.
	Of the £2 billion budget, spend in 2011-12 was 5%, and in 2012-13 16%. Plans continue to be developed to support the gradual roll-out from autumn 2013 within budget.

Universal Credit

Alistair Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the offices from which universal credit is paid, as of 2 September 2013.

Mark Hoban: Ashton-under-Lyne Jobcentre has been accepting claims for universal credit since April. Wigan, Warrington and Oldham Jobcentres have been implementing the claimant commitment since April, and have been taking claims for universal credit since July.
	In addition, our universal credit service centres in Bolton and Glasgow have been delivering telephony and processing support since April.

Universal Credit

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of exempting households with a 21 to 24 year old in receipt of the standard allowance of universal credit or being assessed for their capability to work from housing costs contributions under universal credit.

Steve Webb: It has long been a feature of the benefits system that someone living in a claimant's home should be expected to contribute towards the rent. This principle will be carried forward into universal credit, although the system will be both simpler and provide improved work incentives. We are introducing a single flat rate of housing cost contribution which will apply, irrespective of income, to non-dependants aged 21 and over.
	While many non-dependants aged under the age of 21 are currently expected to make a contribution in housing benefits, under universal credit all will be exempt. For those aged 21 and over, a contribution will be expected only where the person is either in work or there is an expectation that they should be working/can return to work. A contribution will not be expected if the person is a carer, is responsible for a young child, or is in receipt of a specified disability benefit.
	The cost of removing the housing cost contribution for 21 to 24-year-old non-dependants who are claiming universal credit is estimated to be around £50 million a year. This includes those claimants being assessed for their capability to work who are claiming universal credit.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his contribution of 11 September 2012, Official Report, column 154, when he started holding weekly meetings on the IT development for universal credit.

Mark Hoban: IT for universal credit has been a standing item in the weekly Ministerial Change Delivery Group (MCDG) meetings since these meetings started in September 2012. Previous to that, and since autumn 2011, fortnightly meetings have been held by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), to follow up IT developments.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date the new rollout plan for universal credit will be published.

Mark Hoban: Officials continue to work on the development of the plans to successfully deliver universal credit by 2017. Ministers will outline the longer term UC implementation plans in the autumn.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many invoices were processed by his Department in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: The centralised invoice processing team within the DCLG Finance Shared Service Division processed 10,310 purchase invoices for DCLG in the financial year 2012/13.

Fire Services: Pensions

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will facilitate negotiations between employers and trades unions on pensions in the fire service.

Brandon Lewis: The pension on offer to firefighters is one of the most generous in the public sector. A firefighter who earns £29,000 and retires at age 60 after a full career will get a £19,000 a year pension, rising to £26,000 with the state pension.
	The Government has been discussing reform of the Firefighters' Pension scheme with employers and trades unions for over two years, including meeting the Fire Brigades Union last week, and made significant improvements to the offer over that time.
	Discussions on the detail of the reforms will continue as part of implementing the 2015 scheme.

Local Government Finance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what total central Government support to local authorities will be in cash terms in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Brandon Lewis: We have set out proposals for local government funding for 2014-15 and 2015-16 in the Spending Round and in the current Technical Consultation. Final details of central Government support to local authorities for each year will be set out as usual during the Local Government Finance settlement process.

Local Government Finance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the 2013 Spending Round figures describing a 2.3 per cent overall reduction in local authority funding includes funding for (a) the NHS, (b) schools and (c) other areas not in the remit of local authorities.

Brandon Lewis: Detail of the composition of the overall spending figure reduction of 2.3% for local authorities for 2015-16 was set out in the spending review. It is a measure of the resources available for council services. As such, it includes unringfenced central Government grants to local authorities, including Revenue Support Grant, the local share of business rates and the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast of council tax receipts. It also assumes a portion of the health and social care Integration and Transformation Fund will be spent on social care services. It does not include ringfenced central Government grants, such as the Public Health Grant or Dedicated Schools Grant.

Waste Disposal: Complaints

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints he has received about bin blight in the last six months.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 4 September 2013
	The Department does not hold this information. However, since the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), made an announcement on 16 August to tackle bin blight (unsightly bin clutter), the Department has received over 60 letters of enthusiastic support for this stance from members of the public. The Government is to publish new guidance which will require suitable provision to be made for proper waste storage in new homes. This will help avoid bins dominating residential streets or contributing to increased odour and roadside litter. This is part of our wider programme of tackling the failed waste collection policies of the last Administration, and protecting the local amenity and local services of hard-working people.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Employment Agencies

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff working in his Department are employed through agencies using the Swedish Derogation; how many staff receive less than the living wage; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills uses two preferred suppliers from a central Government framework for the supply of temporary agency staff. All the temporary agency staff supplied by those suppliers have a direct relationship with the respective agency and not with an umbrella company.
	There is no universally agreed definition of the living wage. Therefore we cannot make this assessment.

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of his Department's jobs have been relocated from London to each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Jo Swinson: BIS was formed through a machinery of government change that occurred in June 2009. The Department was created by merging the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). Therefore only information from that date is available. Since 2009 the Department has had to reduce its headcount significantly as part of the Government's savings programme and this has meant net reductions in the number of staff in London and some other offices. However, decisions on the exact location of individual posts between the various BIS sites are taken as necessary by management units and there is therefore no central record of the number of posts relocated from London over this period. To obtain this information would result in disproportionate costs.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Cycling

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what funding his Department provides for cycling infrastructure development.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not provide funding for cycling infrastructure development.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 11 July 2013, Official Report, columns 625-26, on energy demand, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) de-rated capacity margin and (b) likelihood of some customer disconnections in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15, (iii) 2015-16, (iv) 2016-17, (v) 2017-18, (vi) 2018-19 and (vii) 2019-20.

Michael Fallon: We have not published a recent estimate of (a) de-rated capacity margins or (b) the likelihood of customer disconnections for the period in question.
	The last published assessment of capacity margins by this Department was in October last year in DECC's response to the 2012 Ofgem Capacity Assessment which was an annex to the 2012 Statutory Security of Supply Report. This also included an estimate of the likelihood of customer disconnections in 2015-16:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65632/7073-statutory-security-of-supply-report.pdf
	Since this publication, there have been a number of developments in the market which have affected capacity margins as Ofgem set out in their 2013 Capacity Assessment report. In addition, in June the Government announced that the first Capacity Market auction would be run in 2014 for delivery in 2018-19.
	We will publish an up-to-date security of supply forecast later this year in our response to the 2013 Ofgem Capacity Assessment.

Energy: Consumption

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what analysis or research his Department has conducted or commissioned on the relationship between outside temperature and (a) energy expenditure and (b) energy usage among (i) elderly people and (ii) people in fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not commissioned any research specifically on these relationships. However, it has a number of monitoring projects underway primarily for other purposes, and some of these may allow limited analysis of such relationships in a few years time.

Energy: Meters

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what guidance his Department has given to energy companies regarding the provision of information to customers about home visits to install smart meters.

Gregory Barker: The Government has required energy suppliers to establish a Smart Metering Installation Code of Practice:
	http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/37-smart-meter-policies/786-smart-meter-installation-code-of-practice-smicop-january-2013.html
	The code of practice was approved by Ofgem and came into effect on 1 June 2013. It includes detailed requirements about the arrangement of smart meter installation visits and the information that customers should be given in advance of the visit.

EU Globalisation Fund

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the UK share of EU financial support under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund is.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The UK has never applied to use the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and subsequently receives no share of financial support from the fund.

Fracking

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what safety assessment has been conducted on the effect on drinking water supplies of a tanker carrying fracking chemicals to a pad being used for the extraction of natural gas using hydraulic fracturing of gases crashing en route and releasing the toxic contents into the water supplies.

Michael Fallon: On 31 July this year the Environment Agency released its environmental risk assessment of shale gas exploration. This assesses the risk of contamination of groundwater and the measures needed to address that risk. The Environment Agency has also set out what it expects to see from operators, before it will allow any exploration for oil or gas, in its draft technical guidance for onshore oil and gas exploratory operations, which is out for consultation until 23 October.
	Movement of any chemicals, including those used in hydraulic fracturing, need to be considered under the UN Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals to determine whether they are classified as dangerous goods for the purpose of transport. If they are deemed to be so, they will be subject to the requirement for safe transport by road as laid down in the European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR), which is strictly policed.

Fracking

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans are being put in place to manage over the long term or to dispose of the radioactive waste created by hydraulic fracturing.

Michael Fallon: Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are ubiquitous in the earth's crust but can become concentrated during industrial activities. The radioactivity of any wastes arising from hydraulic fracturing would be low. By law any proposed industrial activity that may result in the accumulation of low level radioactive waste requires permission from the relevant environment agency. Permission is contingent on the development of a waste management plan for all anticipated radioactive waste arisings. The applicant must also secure disposal (transfer) routes through companies that are themselves permitted to receive and dispose of radioactive waste.
	A UK strategy is currently under development for the management of NORM waste, including those from shale gas exploration and production. It will complement existing strategies for the nuclear industry and for small producers such as hospitals. While it will compare forecast national waste arisings against treatment and disposal capacity, the primary responsibility to secure adequate waste management capacity rests with industry.

Nuclear Power

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effects of nuclear generation on the average unit price of electricity over the next 10 years.

Michael Fallon: The UK currently has around 10 GW of nuclear capacity and much of this is expected to continue operating over the next 10 years. During this time, the average unit price of electricity will continue to be determined by marginal plant; usually gas fired Combined Cycle Gas Turbine, but will also be affected by the emerging generation mix as we transition to a low carbon power supply in a reformed market.
	New nuclear has a part to play in decarbonising the power grid in the long-run, and is currently expected to start coming online in the early 2020s. Given the construction time frames, however, new nuclear will have a minimal impact on the average price of electricity over the next 10 years.

Wind Power

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what comparative analysis his Department has made of the competitiveness and cost-efficiency of the (a) UK and (b) EU wind turbine industries.

Michael Fallon: Alongside the Onshore Wind Call for Evidence which concluded in June 2013, DECC commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an evidence review of onshore wind electricity generation, focusing on international evidence of government initiatives to support such investment and deployment.
	The report was split into two parts; part 1 compared support levels across 26 countries and regions, while part 2 analysed the differences in support levels and costs of onshore wind in the UK compared to five country case studies—Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland and Poland. The full report and external peer review can be found here:
	Frontier report
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205620/international_support_onshore_wind_frontier.pdf
	Peer review
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/204910/peer_review_international_support_onshore_wind.pdf

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband: Rural Areas

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps is she taking to improve the quality of broadband provision in rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 6 September 2013
	A total of £930 million, plus a further £150 million for the Mobile Infrastructure Project, of Government funds have been allocated to support broadband delivery. To date 38 local broadband contracts have now been signed under our rural broadband programme, representing over 95% of the total project funding allocations. 10 projects have already provided their first superfast broadband connections and delivery is now moving ahead across the country.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on the slow speed of broadband in rural communities; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Government is delivering a transformation in broadband, with 95% of premises due to have access to superfast broadband by 2017. It is considering with suppliers how to extend that to 99% by 2018. The Government will also ensure universal access to at least 2 Mbps. A total of £780 million of Government funds have been allocated to support rural broadband delivery. Ofcom has reported that in May 2013 average download speeds in rural locations were 9.9 Mbps, up from 4.1 Mbps in May 2011, a 141% increase in two years.

Cultural Heritage

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the level of entrepreneurism in the cultural sector; and what steps she is taking to ensure that funding by her Department of this sector is linked to development of economic growth and jobs.

Edward Vaizey: Following the recent spending round settlement, Ministers wrote to all publicly-funded arm’s length bodies setting out DCMS's priorities which include a focus on financial resilience and economic growth. Steps are already being taken to align public funding with support for economic growth and jobs in the cultural sector. For example, Arts Council England is investing in the Creative Employment Programme which is putting in £15 million to enable young people gain access to on the job training and skills in the cultural sector; Catalyst is a £100 million sector-wide initiative set up by DCMS, Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund aimed at helping organisations diversify income streams and access funding from private sources; and a partnership between the Arts Council and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) is bringing together research and investment to build innovation and resilience across the culture sector and creative industries.

Mobile Phones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda on proposals to eliminate roaming charges across the European Union; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: We understand from recent public statements by Vice President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, that the European Commission intends to bring forward a package of regulatory proposals in the telecommunications sector in the near future and that these proposals are likely to include proposals to eliminate roaming charges throughout the European Union.
	The UK Government has been a strong supporter of co-ordinated action to reduce roaming charges through a series of regulations which have already resulted in substantial reductions in roaming charges. While Ministers have not had an opportunity to discuss proposals in detail with Vice President Kroes, we support the objective of further reducing roaming charges which will benefit business and retail consumers alike.

Music

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will discuss with the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Trailblazers that group's report on access to live music published in June 2013;
	(2)  if she will estimate the number of people under the age of 18 years with disabilities who have attended a live music concert in each of the last five years.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS does not record the numbers of young people with disabilities attending live music events. The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers, including music venues, to make a reasonable adjustment so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. What is ‘reasonable’ will vary from one situation to another, as factors like the practicability of making the adjustment, the cost of the adjustment and the resources available to the organisation will vary.
	We support measures taken by the live music industry to maximise accessibility to such events for disabled people, and welcome UK Music's members' commitment to ensuring that those with disabilities are able to enjoy music and that live music venues take steps to improve access where necessary.

Television: Licensing

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will discuss with the BBC Trust what steps the BBC is taking to ensure that hotel and bed and breakfast owners know the rules regarding the paying of their TV licence.

Edward Vaizey: TV Licensing informs people of the need to buy a TV Licence. TV Licensing issued a reminder on 2 August this year to hotels and guest houses across the UK to make sure they are correctly licensed. Further information on this can be found at:
	http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/media-centre/news/tv-licensing-reminds-hotel-owners-to-get-licensed-NEWS72/

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many posts in the Government Equalities Office have been relocated from London to each other region in each of the last 10 years.

Helen Grant: No posts from the GEO have been relocated from London to the other regions in the last 10 years.

DEFENCE

Carbon Emissions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to meet carbon emission reduction targets.

Mark Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 402W.

Afghanistan

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions UK Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles have launched weapons in Afghanistan since 11 May 2013.

Andrew Robathan: Between 11 May 2013 and 2 September 2013, there were 33 weapon releases from UK Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). All weapon releases were authorised by qualified pilots using the same rules of engagement that our manned aircraft operate by.
	A total of 322 missions were flown by UK Reaper RPAS during this period, providing a crucial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability.

Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what consultation has taken place with the Service Chiefs on the future of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire about the future of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme; and what the outcomes of those discussions were.

Andrew Murrison: The three Service secretariats were consulted as part of the Houghton review. A Two Star AFPS military champion has been appointed to co-ordinate the Department's support to the scheme.
	I had the opportunity to discuss the scheme with the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy), on 8 July 2013 by telephone and informally in the House on 2 September 2013, and have advised him of developments in answer to written parliamentary questions on 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 49W.

Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many (a) hon. Members, (b) Members of the House of Lords, (c) Members of the European Parliament and (d) other have been attached to the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme;
	(2)  what the gender balance has been of participants in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in the last 25 years;
	(3)  what the political balance has been of participants in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in the last 25 years;
	(4)  what the ethnic balance has been of participants in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in the last 25 years;
	(5)  how much the Parliamentary Armed Forces Scheme cost to administer in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Murrison: This information is not held by the Ministry of Defence and is a matter for the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.

Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on the Houghton report into the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme;
	(2)  what consideration has been given to the satisfaction survey conducted as part of the Houghton report in decision-making about the future of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.

Andrew Murrison: The work associated with producing the Houghton report was supported by the Ministry of Defence from within existing staff resources. No separate costs have been identified.
	The report was submitted to Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme stakeholders to inform the consideration of future governance options at their meeting on 25 October 2012. This included consultation with stakeholder groups that confirmed continuing support for the objectives of the scheme.

Armed Forces: Housing

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding was allocated for the improvement and maintenance of living accommodation in each category for the (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army for each financial year from 2009-10; and what funding has been allocated for the next three full financial years.

Andrew Murrison: It will take time to gather this information. I will write to the hon. Member.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding was allocated to the (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army for recruitment purposes in each category of expenditure in each financial year since 2009-10.

Andrew Murrison: Capturing the cost of recruiting across the armed forces is a complex and resource-intensive task. For financial year (FY) 2010-11, when both the recruitment budget and recruitment targets were below normal levels, these calculations were not carried out. The costs for FYs 2009-10 and 2011-12 are set out in the following table. The cost of recruiting in FY 2012-13 will be available in early 2014.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  FY 2009-10 FY 2011-12 
			  Royal Navy Army RAF Royal Navy Army RAF 
			 Manpower 18 84.5 29 20 94.5 23 
			 Marketing 12.5 22.5 12.5 5.5 14.5 9 
			 Infrastructure 1.5 10 4 1.5 4.5 2.5 
			 Other Costs(1) 9.5 22 5.5 5 21 4.5 
			 Total 41.5 139 51 32 134.5 39 
			 (1) Includes sessional doctor fees to carry out candidate medicals; IT costs; sponsorships and bursaries and recruiting staff allowances. 
		
	
	With regards to recruiting into the armed forces running parallel with a redundancy programme, it is vital that all three services continue to recruit in order to maintain the right mix of trained and experienced personnel for the future and to avoid the mistakes of the past that led to critical skill shortages in some roles. As experience has shown, once active recruitment ceases, it takes at least three years of marketing to regain recruiting momentum. In addition, as the armed forces are an organisation that relies on promoting from within, there is a need to ensure that an appropriate number of new recruits are taken on to move up through the system. Maintaining the inflow of new recruits remains a priority because it is essential in ensuring that the armed forces are appropriately manned to meet the future operational demands placed upon it.

Aviation

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministers in his Department have taken charter flights to which destinations and at what cost per flight in each of the last 12 months.

Andrew Murrison: I have interpreted chartered flights to be flights which have been booked exclusively for the use of a Minister.
	No Ministers within the Department have taken charter flights in the last 12 months.
	Details of ministerial travel including flight details, costs and destinations can be accessed via our official corporate publication:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

Middle East

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which countries in the Middle East the UK has a defence co-operation agreement.

Andrew Murrison: The UK has no legally binding defence co-operation agreements with countries in the middle east. (Normally ‘agreements’ are legally binding documents, which establish rights and obligations under international law. Such agreements must be laid before Parliament and ratified before they enter into force.)
	The UK does have a number of non-legally binding arrangements with middle eastern countries, including Defence Co-operation Accords with Bahrain, Qatar and UAE and memoranda of understanding concerning defence co-operation with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Lebanon. Bi-lateral and multi-lateral arrangements, unlike agreements, are not generally published into the public domain because their content is often unsuitable for release or they carry a security classification. Furthermore, details of individual MOUs are not normally released into the public domain without the consent of participating countries.

Military Bases: Germany

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what compensation agreements his Department has agreed with the German government over the withdrawal of UK bases from Germany.

Andrew Robathan: The requirement for resolution of any environmental issues relating to the estate vacated by the British Forces in Germany (BFG) is detailed in the Supplementary Agreement to the NATO Status of Forces Agreement and the Ministry of Defence is committed to adhering to this in consultation with the German authorities.
	Negotiations are well under way with the German authorities for the final, one-time settlement of all financial claims arising from the release of accommodation, including those relating to pollution, the treatment of property procured from funds made available to the UK by Germany in the 40s and 50s, and the residual value of sterling-funded investments in the estate.
	The final settlement will also take into account any improvements and betterment carried out to the estate since the UK took over control of the estate.

Military Bases: Germany

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has given written formal notice to the German Government regarding the UK's withdrawal of its armed forces from Germany.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 September 2013
	The Ministry of Defence gave written formal notice to the German Government at the time of the strategic defence and security review on 20 October 2012.

Military Exercises

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what land in the UK is available to his Department for use in training; and on what occasions each such location has been used for those purposes in the last year.

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence has some 360,00 hectares of land available for training 365 days a year. Information on usage for each individual area is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pay

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what benefits in kind were received by the (a) Permanent Secretary of his Department, (b) the Chief of the Defence Staff, (c) the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and (d) the Chief of Defence Materiel in 2012-13.

Andrew Murrison: Full details of the taxable benefits-in-kind received by the Permanent Secretary, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and the Chief of Defence Materiel in financial year 2012-13 are set out in the table on page 75 and at paragraph 7.118 on page 76 of the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, a copy of which is available to view in the Vote Office.
	The report is also available on the internet at the following address:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-annual-report-and-accounts-201213

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's jobs have been relocated from London to each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Francois: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

War Memorials

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what caseload has been held by the Directorate of Manning for (a) the Army, (b) the Royal Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force regarding the commemoration of British service personnel who died during the First and Second World Wars in each year since 2010.

Mark Francois: The Army is in the process of introducing new arrangements to deal with such cases more efficiently. As part of this work a review is currently under way to examine in detail the current and historical caseload. This has not yet concluded, but at this stage the Army currently hold 225 outstanding cases, with a further 76 cases under discussion with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 567 cases have been dealt with since 2010.
	The Royal Navy currently holds no cases but has dealt with a total of 151 cases since 2010.
	The Royal Air Force currently holds no cases but has dealt with a total of 25 since 2010.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 17 April 2013, Official Report, column 391W, on bovine tuberculosis, when his Department plans to assess the effect of measures introduced in January 2013 to improve the testing regime and restrict cattle movements on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis.

David Heath: holding answer 6 September 2013
	We already have a wide range of mechanisms in place to monitor the progress of bovine TB in England, including the publication of monthly national and regional statistics on the TB incidence in cattle, annual reports of bovine TB surveillance for England and GB and quarterly field epidemiology reports for the low risk and edge areas of England. The introduction of a simplified TB surveillance testing programme in for cattle herds in England last January has also created a stable monitoring regime that will provide comparable data over several years, which will improve the ability to detect trends.
	However, the new surveillance arrangements for cattle are part of a series of additional measures and improvements to the bovine TB eradication programme that my Department has recently introduced and will continue to roll out over the next few months, including risk-based trading and the edge area strategy. Therefore, it will be very difficult to attribute any change in disease incidence to one particular measure.
	We are committed to adapting our management of the disease as new data and improved understanding of how the disease is transmitted becomes available. In the current consultation on the draft strategy for achieving bovine TB-free status in England, we propose to set clear, measureable targets for disease incidence, for which we can be held accountable and measure success against. These targets will take account of the aim to achieve bovine TB-free status in England within 25 years.

Carbon Emissions: Agriculture

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 September 2012, Official Report, column 313W on carbon emissions: agriculture, what progress has been made by the joint research programme between the Government and devolved administrations on reducing carbon emissions from agriculture in a cost effective way.

David Heath: DEFRA and the devolved Administration Governments have developed a joint research programme to improve the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions from UK agricultural practices. This includes research into farm management practices that can reduce these emissions. The research is progressing well and is scheduled to be completed in March 2015. More information on this research can be found at:
	http://www.ghgplatform.org.uk/

Common Agricultural Policy

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial counterparts in Northern Ireland on the outcome of the most recent Common Agricultural Policy negotiations.

David Heath: holding answer 9 September 2013
	The Secretary of State has worked closely with Ministers from the devolved Administrations to actively seek their views on reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP) throughout the negotiation process. The Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was present at the conclusion of the main CAP negotiations in late June. Ministers and senior officials will continue to work closely with their counterparts in the devolved Administrations in accordance with the memoranda of understanding as we enter the final stages of the CAP reform negotiations.

Employment Agencies

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many employment agency staff currently working within (a) his Department and (b) each executive agency and non-departmental public body for which he is responsible have been employed for more than (i) 12 months, (ii) 18 months, (iii) 24 months and (iv) 36 months;
	(2)  how many employment agency staff are currently working within (a) his Department and (b) each executive agency or non-departmental public body for which he is responsible.

Richard Benyon: The following table shows the number of employment agency staff working in core DEFRA, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies on 31 July 2013, and a breakdown of their length of employment for agency staff who have been employed for more than 12 months.
	
		
			 Department/Agency/NDPB Total at 31 July 2013 Over 12 Months Over 18 Months Over 24 Months Over 36 Months 
			 Core DEFRA 23 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency 28 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 1 — — — — 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency 7 1 — — — 
			 Rural Payments Agency 24 5 3 4 5 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate 12 1 — 2 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board 12 — — — — 
			 Consumer Council for Water 0 — — — — 
			 Environment Agency 396 56 29 8 31 
			 Gangmasters Licensing Authority 0 — — — — 
			 Joint Nature Conservation Committee 0 — — — — 
			 Marine Management Organisation 0 — — — — 
			 National Forest Company 0 — — — — 
			 Natural England 116 39 12 4 3 
			 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 10 — 1 1 2 
			 Sea Fish Industry Authority 0 — — — — 
			 Total 629 — — — — 
		
	
	Information on the duration of employment by agency staff is not held by core DEFRA or Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.

Livestock: Transport

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy objectives are with respect to the transport of animals over long distances.

David Heath: In line with the relevant legal requirements in Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005, this Government expects that transport of animals over long distances should be limited as far as possible and that the health and welfare of animals during transport should be protected so as to avoid injury or undue suffering. We expect all transporters to abide by both EU and domestic legislation and will not tolerate any welfare breaches of the legislation.
	We have made clear in Brussels that this Government supports improvements being made to enforcement across the EU of existing rules on the long distance transport of livestock. We have also called on the European Commission to update the rules on welfare during transport where there is sufficient scientific evidence to support a change. This includes reducing the maximum journey time for horses and better protection for the transport of infant livestock.

Livestock: Transport

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many lorries of live farm animals for further fattening or slaughter have left English ports since 1 May 2013; and of those shipments how many lorries were inspected by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency both at loading and at the port.

David Heath: Between 1 May 2013 and 5 September 2013, there have been 46 such vehicles. All of these vehicles were inspected by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) on departure. 18 were subject to additional checks by AHVLA inspectors at the port of exit.

Sustainable Development

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements the Prime Minister has put in place for the mainstreaming of sustainable development in all Government Departments.

David Heath: The Government published its Vision for Mainstreaming Sustainable Development in February 2011. This sets out the arrangements for mainstreaming sustainable development across government. A report summarising progress since the publication of the Vision was published by DEFRA in conjunction with the Minister for Government Policy, the right hon. Member for West Dorset (Mr Letwin), this year.
	The Vision for Mainstreaming Sustainable Development is available at:
	http://sd.defra.gov.uk/documents/mainstreaming-sustainable-development.pdf
	The progress report is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200134/pb13914-susdev-progress2013.pdf
	Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library of the House.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Crown Prosecution Service will review the selection and training of its specialist rape and child abuse advocates following the use of the term predatory by one of its barristers to describe a victim of child abuse.

Oliver Heald: The Director of Public Prosecutions has announced that he will be undertaking a review to determine what happened in this case and to decide what action needs to be taken. This might include a revision of the process for selecting and training specialist rape and child sexual abuse advocates from the self-employed Bar.

Female Genital Mutilation

Helen Goodman: To ask the Attorney-General how many convictions for committing female genital mutilation there were in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Oliver Heald: There have been no prosecutions or convictions in respect of offences relating to female genital mutilation in the last three years.
	In September 2012 the Director of Public Prosecutions chaired a roundtable meeting to consider the lack of prosecutions, and to explore why so few cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) are being referred to the CPS for charge and prosecution. The roundtable meeting was drawn from a range of groups including parliamentarians, groups representing the victims of FGM, members from the medical profession, the police and the CPS. A key outcome of the meeting was the publication of an action plan setting out the steps to be taken to strengthen investigation and evidence to support a successful prosecution.
	On 5 September 2013 the Director chaired a second roundtable meeting to discuss progress on the FGM action plan. The roundtable, one year on, looked at the progress made on the different elements of the action plan and the Director highlighted that, as a result of work to date, the CPS and the police were now in a much better position to tackle FGM. An updated action plan will be published shortly.

HEALTH

Continuing Care

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many appeals for continuing care were outstanding for (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 or more months in England and Wales in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect information on the numbers of appeals for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2013, Official Report, columns 667-668W, on equality, where the details of those salary costs are held.

Daniel Poulter: I regret that the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 16 July 2013, Official Report, columns 667-68W, was incomplete. The Department is able to estimate approximate costs for staff directly employed in equality and diversity related functions.
	The previous reply also omitted the numbers of staff working in the national health service equality team in 2012-13 which are now added to the table. In addition, the Department spent a total of £2,171,396 from its programme budgets towards equality, diversity and human rights related work in 2010-11. In subsequent years, there was no programme spend.
	
		
			  Team Grade Full-time equivalent (FTE) Average weighted salary (£) Average weighted salary (FTE) (£) 
			 2010-11 Equality and Inclusion Team Senior Civil Servant (SCS) 1 1 102,909 102,909 
			   GRADE 6 1 86,379 86,379 
			   GRADE 7 3 67,279 201,836 
			   Senior Executive Officer (SEO) 2 49,311 98,623 
			   Executive Officer (EO) 0.5 32,600 16,300 
			  Human Resources Diversity GRADE 6 0.7 86,379 60,465 
			   SEO 6.7 49,311 34,518 
			   Higher Executive Officer (HEO) 1 39,501 39,501 
			   EO 0.1 32,600 3,260 
			  NHS Equality and Social Care Team SCS2 1 144,475 144,475 
			   SCSI 1 102,909 102,909 
			   GRADE 6 1 86,379 86,379 
			   GRADE 7 3.5 67,279 235,475 
			   SEO 1 49,311 49,311 
			   HEO 1 39,501 39,501 
			   EO 2 32,600 65,201 
			   Administrative Officer (AO) 1 25,378 25,378 
			  Total    1,392,418 
			       
			 2011-12 Equality and Inclusion Team SCSI 1 102,102 102,102 
			   GRADE 6 1 85,572 ' 85,572 
			   GRADE 7 2 66,801 133,601 
			   SEO 2 49,028 98,055 
			   EO 0.5 32,768 16,384 
			  Human Resources Diversity GRADE 6 0.7 85,572 59,900 
			   SEO 0.7 49,028 34,319 
			   HEO 0.6 39,432 23,659 
			   EO 0.5 32,768 16,384 
			  NHS Equality and Social Care Team SCS2 1 144,159 144,159 
			   SCSI 1 102,102 102,102 
			   GRADE 6 2 85,572 171,144 
			   GRADE 7 1.5 66,801 96,861 
			   HEO 1 39,432 39,432 
			   EO 2 32,768 65,536 
			  Total    1,189,210 
			       
			 2012-13 Equality and Inclusion Team SCSI 1 101,476 101,476 
		
	
	
		
			   GRADE 6 1 85,380 85,380 
			   GRADE 7 2 66,595 133,190 
			   SEO 2 49,108 98,217 
			   EO 0.5 33,089 16,544 
			  Human Resources Diversity GRADE 6 0.5 85,380 42,690 
			   SEO 0.5 49,108 24,554 
			   HEO 1 39,584 39,584 
			  NHS Equality and Social Care Team SCSI 0.5 33,089 16,544 
			   GRADE 6 1 101,476 101,476 
			   GRADE 7 3.5 85,380 294,561 
			   SEO 1 66,595 66,595 
			   HEO 1 49,108 49,108 
			   EO 1.5 39,584 59,376 
			  Total    1,129,295 
			 Note: Weighted average annual salary includes including Superannuation and ERNIC.

Health

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations or individuals have withdrawn from each of the networks established under the public health responsibility deal to date.

Anna Soubry: Since its launch in March 2011, 41 organisations have withdrawn from the Responsibility Deal. At 9 September 2013, there were 559 Responsibility Deal partners.
	Some individuals; such as academics or expert advisers, are involved in the work of the Deal's networks in a personal capacity. They cannot sign up as partners. One such advisor, Dr Nick Sheron, resigned as co-chair of the alcohol network in July 2013.
	In July 2013, UK Health Forum withdrew as a member of the alcohol network's core group however, they remain signed up as a partner.

Incontinence

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to improve the standards of continence care in social care settings;
	(2)  if he will include measures to address continence care within the forthcoming domiciliary care strategy.

Norman Lamb: All providers of health and adult social care services are required by law to make suitable arrangements to meet the needs of and ensure the welfare and safety of service users, as cited under Regulation 9 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010.
	Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning high quality continence services for their areas, based on an assessment of local need and performance managing their providers in the delivery of high quality services.
	We recognise that continence can impact on every aspect of peoples' lives and that it often requires a joined approach from both health and social care services. The Department's forthcoming ‘Vulnerable Older People's Plan’, with its focus on improving and individualising the management of out of hospital care, will directly support those with continence problems by creating more integrated health and social care services.
	To improve standards in continence care generally, the Department commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop clinical guidelines on the management of urinary incontinence in women (issued in 2006) and faecal incontinence in adults (issued in 2007), which are supported by commissioning tools to support clinical commissioning groups. NICE is also developing a clinical quality standard on incontinence, due for publication in February 2014.

Incontinence

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to address the deficits in training, diagnosis, treatment and patient communications in continence care identified in the recent report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Continence Care entitled, Cost-effective Commissioning for Continence Care.

Norman Lamb: Responsibility for continence services sits with NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs are responsible for commissioning high quality continence services based on an assessment of local need and performance managing their providers in the delivery of high quality services.
	Health Education England has responsibility for promoting high quality education and training that is responsive to the changing needs of patients and local communities and will work with stakeholders to influence training curricula as appropriate.
	The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC is an independent professional body. It has the general function of promoting high standards of medical education and co-ordinating all stages of medical education to ensure that students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and values essential for professional practice. Communication skills are an important part of medical training and there are a range of guidance and training curricula which set out common competencies that should be acquired by all doctors, including communication skills and interaction with patients.
	Through NHS Choices we have provided information for the public on incontinence and continence services including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, risks, treatments and real-life stories of living with incontinence.
	In addition, the Department commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop clinical guidelines on the management of urinary incontinence in women (issued in 2006) and faecal incontinence in adults (issued in 2007), which are supported by commissioning tools to support clinical commissioning groups. NICE is also developing a quality standard on incontinence for publication in February 2014.

Out-patients: Attendance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS for each patient who does not attend a booked appointment without cancelling in (a) GP surgeries and (b) clinics;
	(2)  how many patients did not attend appointments in the NHS without cancelling in advance in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what the estimated cost to the NHS was of missed appointments, without patients cancelling in advance, in each of the last five years;
	(4)  what discussions he has had with NHS England on ways to minimise the financial loss and time wasted by patients not attending appointments.

Daniel Poulter: No estimates have been made centrally of the cost to the national health service of missed appointments (Did Not Attends) in general practitioner (GP) surgeries or clinics.
	The information available on missed outpatient appointments in England is shown in the following table. Information is not collected on the number of patients who miss appointments in GP surgeries.
	The Department and NHS England have not discussed missed appointments. Local NHS organisations make their own arrangements for preventing and dealing with missed appointments.
	
		
			 NHS out-patient Did Not Attends (DNA) 
			  First attendances DNA Subsequent attendances DNA Total DNAs 
			 2008-09 1,430,296 4,090,929 5,521,225 
			 2009-10 1,544,781 4,155,649 5,700,430 
			 2010-11 1,589,611 4,138,620 5,728,231 
			 2011-12 1,538,813 3,911,900 5,450,713 
			 2012-13 1,595,078 3,926,450 5,521,528 
			 Source: NHS England Quarterly Activity Return. Commissioner based

Plastic Surgery

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to introducing a licensing system to regulate providers of higher-risk cosmetic interventions;
	(2)  whether he has given consideration to bringing forward legislative proposals to give local authorities powers to regulate providers of higher-risk cosmetic interventions.

Daniel Poulter: An Independent Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions (the Keogh review) was published in April 2013. A copy of the review has already been placed in the Library. The Keogh review made 40 recommendations. We support the principal conclusions of the review. However, implementation of the recommendations raises a number of complex issues, which we are working through, and involves a wide range of partners. We will be publishing the Government response later this autumn.
	Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, all providers, including independent providers, of surgical procedures carried out by a health care professional for cosmetic purposes are (subject to the exceptions of piercings, tattoos, subcutaneous injections/filler, and the removal of hair/blemishes via lasers and lights) required to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and regulated for that activity against a set of registration requirements.
	Failure to comply with the requirements is an offence, and under the 2008 Act, the CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if the provider is not compliant. Providing local authorities with powers to regulate providers of such cosmetic interventions would be unnecessary duplication.
	We will be considering how best to address non-surgical interventions in the Government response to the Keogh review.

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of his Department's jobs have been relocated from London to each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: The Lyons Review Programme set out departmental delivery targets for the delivery of relocation of posts from London to the regions during the period 2003-04 to 2009-10. The departmental delivery target included both the core Department and its arm’s length bodies. The Department's agreed target for relocations during this period was 1,030. However the Department and its arm’s length bodies exceeded this target and delivered a total of 1,222 relocations. Information outside of this period is not available.
	The number of posts the Department and its arm's length bodies relocated outside of London as part of the Lyons Review Programme broken down by year and region is detailed as follows:
	
		
			  Region Number of posts relocated 
			 2003-04 North West 129 
			  South West 22 
			  East Midlands 5 
			  West Midlands 103 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 9 
			    
			 2004-05 South West 1 
			  West Midlands 1 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 1 
		
	
	
		
			    
			 2005-06 North East 2 
			  North West 20 
			  South West 1 
			  East Midlands 1 
			  West Midlands 129 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 146 
			  Scotland 6 
			  Wales 6 
			    
			 2006-07 South West 1 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 82 
			  Northern Ireland 1 
			    
			 2007-08 North West 117 
			  West Midlands 89 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 30. 
			    
			 2008-09 North West 66 
			  West Midlands 42 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 2 
			    
			 2009-10 North East 119 
			  North West 88 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 3

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Health

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on research and development of new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines for global health through each of her Department's product development partnerships in each of the last five years; and how much she intends to spend in such fashion in each of the next five years.

Lynne Featherstone: The following table shows details of the UK Government’s funding support to Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) in each of the last five financial years:
	
		
			 £ 
			 PDP 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Due beyond 2012-13 
			 Aeras—TB Vaccines — 4,000,000 5,500,000 1,000,000 — — 
			 Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative 2,000,000 5,000,000 5,381,529 6,000,000 6,508,021 — 
			 Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics — 1,500,000 500,000 2,900,000 800,000 800,000 
			 International AIDS Vaccine Initiative 6,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 7,500,000 8,500,000 — 
			 International Partnership for Microbicides 2,500,000 7,500,000 3,500,000 2,000,000 4,500,000 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Medicines for Malaria Venture 2,000,000 2,000,000 13,000,000 12,000,000 4,000,000 8,000,000 
			 PATH—Diarrhoeal Diseases Vaccines — 1,500,000 1,692,677 1,409,157 398,166 — 
			 PATH—One World Health (Diarrhoeal Drugs) — 2,000,000 2,950,000 750,000 750,000 750,000 
			 PATH Meningitis Vaccine Programme — — 1,279,475 353,722 356,000 1,610,803 
			 TB Alliance 3,000,000 5,686,384 7,313,616 6,300,000 1,000,000 — 
		
	
	The following table shows the overall level of funding recently awarded by the UK Government to each of the Product Development Partnerships for the period 2013-18—an annual breakdown of projected spend is not yet available.
	
		
			 Product Development Partnership Funding 2013-18 (£ million) 
			 Aeras—TB Vaccines 10 
			 Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative 30 
			 Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics 10 
			 Innovative Vector Control Consortium 12 
			 International AIDS Vaccine Initiative 5 
			 International Partnership for Microbicides 15 
			 Medicines for Malaria Venture 25 
			 PATH for new drugs and vaccines for diarrhoeal disease and diagnostics for malaria 16 
			 TB Alliance 15 
			 Total 138

Developing Countries: Health

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Departmernt has to replace the current research strategy for new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines when it expires at the end of 2013.

Lynne Featherstone: In August 2013, the UK Government committed to investing a further £138 million over the next five years to support the development of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tools to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases that affect the poorest in society. The funding has been awarded to nine partner organisations, as a means of bringing together experts in the field whilst sharing the costs and risks.

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the contribution that (a) the Stop TB Partnership and (b) TB Reach programme has made in (i) assisting her in meeting her Department's objectives and (ii) increasing case detection and treatment of people in developing countries who have active TB.

Lynne Featherstone: Our departmental objective is to help achieve the goals of the Global Plan to Stop TB to reduce deaths and prevalence of TB by half by 2015, compared to 1990 levels. This means we will be contributing to increasing case detection and treatment for people in developing countries with active TB.
	DFID assesses its contributions to the Stop TB Partnership on an annual basis. The assessments have shown that these contributions represent good value for money in terms of reaching our objectives. DFID will also pay due attention to the external evaluation of the Partnership, which is expected to take place early next year. The TB Reach initiative has recently been independently evaluated and DFID is reviewing the report.

TREASURY

Family Incomes

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effect of fiscal policy on family incomes.

Sajid Javid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy).

Bank Services

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on full bank account number portability of new anti-money laundering requirements.

Sajid Javid: holding answer 9 September 2013
	The Government has made no such assessment, however retains the view that UK anti-money laundering requirements should not adversely impact the delivery of full bank account number portability.

British Overseas Territories

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2013, Official Report, column 525W on British Overseas Territories, how many action plans from the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have been published to date; where such plans have been published; and what steps he plans to take against those jurisdictions that fail to publish action plans by the end of this year.

David Gauke: Each of the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories with a financial centre has published an action plan setting out the concrete steps they will take to ensure greater clarity about who really owns, controls, and benefits from companies and legal arrangements in their jurisdictions. These can be found here:
	Guernsey
	http://www.gov.gg/article/108000/Guernsey-publishes-action-plan-on-beneficial-ownership
	Isle of Man
	http://www.gov.gg/article/108000/Guernsey-publishes-action-plan-on-beneficial-ownership
	Jersey
	http://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government% 20and%20administration/R%20Jersey%20Action%20 Plan%20To%20Prevent%20The%20Misuse%20Of%20Legal %20Persons%20And%20Legal%20Arrangements%2020130618% 20AM.pdf
	Anguilla
	http://www.gov.ai/documents/Anguilla%20Action%20Plan %20To%20Prevent%20Misuse%20Of%20Companies%20And% 20Legal%20Arrangements.pdf
	Bermuda
	http://www.royalgazette.com/assets/pdf/RG140491730.pdf
	British Virgin Islands
	http://www.bvi.gov.vg/sites/default/files/action-plan/ActionPlan.pdf
	Cayman Islands
	http://www.caymanfinance.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=4081,7430547&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
	Gibraltar
	https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/finance-centre/action-plan
	Montserrat
	http://www.gov.ms/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Final-action-plan-on-beneficial-ownership.pdf
	Turks and Caicos Islands
	http://www.gov.tc/pressoffice/?q=latest-news/turks-and-caicos-islands-action-plan-prevent-misuse-legal-persons-and-legal-arrangements

Business: North East

Kevan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many new loans have been made to small businesses in the North East of England through the Funding for Lending Scheme; and which participating bank or building society has provided each such loan;
	(2)  what small and micro businesses in the North East have received loans through the Funding for Lending Scheme; and which banks and building societies are providing such loans.

Greg Clark: The Funding for Lending Scheme has contributed to a transformation of the bank funding environment and banks are now passing these on to the real economy including to small businesses.
	As part of the monitoring of the Funding for Lending Scheme, the Bank of England publishes the net lending data of individual banks on a quarterly basis. A regional breakdown is however unavailable. The Bank of England will publish net lending figures by sector once the extension begins.

Income Tax

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential additional revenue to the Exchequer arising from a 60 per cent. tax rate on earnings above £500,000 per annum; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: An estimate of the fiscal impact on the Exchequer from a 60% income tax rate on incomes over £500,000 is available only at disproportionate cost. Such a policy would be expected to have a considerable behavioural response which could ultimately reduce Exchequer revenues rather than raise them.
	For more details on expected responses to high marginal tax rates see the HMRC report ‘The Exchequer effect of the 50% additional rate of income tax’, available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/excheq-income-tax-2042.pdf

Minimum Wage

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has undertaken into the potential economic effect of raising the minimum wage to a living wage.

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	There is no universally agreed definition of the living wage.
	The Government's primary policy for supporting the low paid is the national minimum wage (NMW) and the job of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) is to provide independent advice each year on a NMW level which maximises the support for the low paid without damaging their employment prospects. As part of the NMW annual cycle the Government provides evidence to the LPC on the state of the labour market, wages and the macro-economy.

Pay

Chris Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent comparative assessment he has made of trends in real wages in the UK and in similar economies.

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Chancellor gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Leyton and Wanstead (John Cryer).

Revenue and Customs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what HM Revenue and Customs' compliance yield has been in the financial year to date.

David Gauke: In 2012-13, HMRC delivered £20.7 billion in compliance revenue. It has continued to build upon that success in 2013-14 delivering its best first quarter performance at £4.026 billion(1). Its year to date performance (up to July 2013) stands at £5.196 billion.
	(1 )https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-are-we-doing-hmrcs-april-to-June-2013-performance

Revenue and Customs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions have been brought as a result of investigations by HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 2010-11; and which offences were prosecuted in that time.

David Gauke: The number of prosecutions, convictions and acquittals resulting from HM Revenue and Customs investigations in each year since 2010-11 are as follows:
	
		
			  Prosecutions Convictions Acquittals 
			 2010-11 420 336 54 
			 2011-12 545 413 36 
			 2012-13 770 540 36 
		
	
	The total number of convictions and acquittals in any one year do not match the total number of prosecutions for that year as cases commencing in one year may not reach conclusion until the next. Figures for 2010-11 are based on data collated by the Crown Prosecution Service. Those for 2011-12 and onwards are based on HMRC's own data.
	Offences prosecuted during the period 2010-11 to July 2013 were:
	
		
			 Act and section under which individual were charged 
			 Act Section 
			 Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 Section 170 
			 Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 Section 68 
			 Value Added Tax Act 1994 Section 72 
			 Tax Credit Act 2002 Section 35 
			 Fraud Act 2006 Section 1 
			 Fraud Act 2006 Section 2 
			 Fraud Act 2006 Section 6 
			 Conspiracy to Cheat Revenue—Common Law — 
			 Cheating the Public Revenue—Common Law — 
			 Criminal Law Act 1977 Section 1 
			 Taxes Management Act 1970 Section 106A 
			 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Section 327 
			 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Section 328 
			 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Section 329 
			 Money Laundering Regulations 2007 Section 45 
			 Companies act 2006 Section 993 
			 Tobacco Product Duties Act 1979 — 
			 Theft Act 1968 Section 17 
			 Finances Act 2000 Section 144 
			 Social Security Administration Act 1992 Section 114 
			 Criminal Justices Licensing Act ( Scotland ) 2010 Section 49 
			 Commissioners of Revenue and Customs Act 2005 Section 32

JUSTICE

Altcourse Prison

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to extend HM Prison Altcourse; and what consideration he has given to HM Prison Altcourse as a potential site for the proposed North West superprison.

Jeremy Wright: As part of our search site process to find a suitable location for a new 2,000 plus place prison in London, North Wales and the North West England region we reviewed our surplus land holdings in those regions.
	HM Prison Altcourse was not deemed suitable and we have no current plans to extend or redevelop the site.
	On 4 September the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), announced Wrexham as the site of the new prison for North Wales and the North West England region.

Coroners: Teesside

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the status is of the Office for Judicial Complaints' investigation into HM Coroner for Teesside.

Helen Grant: The Office for Judicial Complaints' investigation into Mr Michael Sheffield, HM Coroner for Teesside has concluded. The Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), considered the findings of investigations undertaken by Middlesbrough Council's Community Safety and Leisure Scrutiny Committee into the Teesside Coroner's Service and a report prepared by the Probation Service (Business Development Team).
	We are of the view that there is no evidence to suggest that the delays have been caused as a result of Mr Sheffield's conduct and concluded that no formal disciplinary action is required. However, the Lord Chief Justice has issued informal advice to Mr Sheffield on the importance of keeping the issues of backlog and delay continuously under review.
	A press statement regarding the outcome of the investigation was placed on the Office for Judicial Complaints website on 9 September. The local MPs who have previously raised PQs regarding Mr Sheffield's conduct have been personally informed of the outcome.

Departmental Responsibilities

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions Ministers and officials of his Department have met (a) Frances Crook, (b) Juliet Lyon and (c) Jenny Earle since May 2010; who took part in any such meetings; and what was discussed at each such meeting.

Jeremy Wright: The Department has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders on all aspects of penal and prison reform. For example, over the consultation period for our plans for rehabilitation reform, the Ministry of Justice held 14 events in five cities that were attended by over 800 stakeholders—this included a roundtable with the CBI and an event for the private sector.
	The Department publishes details of meetings between Ministers, senior officials and all external organisations on a quarterly basis, which include details of meetings with the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust. Meetings from January 2010 to December 2012 can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/transparency-data
	Meetings from January 2013 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=ministry-of-justice&publication_type=transparency-data
	Quarters from March 2013 will be published in due course.

European Convention on Human Rights

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will list the cases brought against the UK under the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights since 1998 where damages, costs or compensation were awarded in favour of the complainant; and how much was awarded in each such case.

Jeremy Wright: A table listing all of the final judgments against the United Kingdom since 1998 where damages, costs or compensation were awarded in favour of the applicant has been prepared using the information publicly available on the website of the European Court of Human Rights.
	In view of the table's length I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Commons Library.

Knives: Crime

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2013, Official Report, columns 387-9W, on knives: crime, what the court proceedings data are for those who received the maximum custodial sentence for possession of a knife in 2012.

Jeremy Wright: This Government takes knife crime very seriously and sentence lengths are increasing for those caught carrying a knife in a public place.
	Unlawful possession of a knife or offensive weapon is a serious criminal offence which carries a maximum four year custodial sentence. Where someone is actually harmed there are a range of other offences with very tough maximum sentences, such as causing grievous bodily harm, that the person will be charged with.
	Last year we introduced new offences of using a knife to threaten and endanger others in a public place or a school. These offences carry a minimum sanction of six months custody for adults and a four month Detention and Training Order for juveniles.
	The Government is also considering whether there is a case for further changes to be made to the sentencing framework for knife possession as part of the knife sentencing review.
	Within the sentencing framework set by Parliament, it is for judges and magistrates to decide the appropriate sentence in individual cases taking account of the harm the offence caused and the culpability of the offender. Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 there is an obligation on courts, when sentencing for offences to follow the guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council, unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
	Available information on the number of offenders sentenced at all courts to immediate custody, and those who received the maximum sentence of four years and the maximum custodial sentence imposed for knife possession offences, in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in the table.
	Following further validation and receipt of additional magistrates court records, a number of revisions have been made to previously published 2011 information. As such, 2011 figures may not match what was previously provided.
	Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014
	
		
			 Offenders sentenced at all courts to immediate custody, and those who received the maximum sentence, for knife possession offences, England and Wales, 2008-12(1, 2) 
			 Offence description  2008 2009 2010 2011(5) 2012 
			 Having an article with blade or point in public place(3) Immediate custody 1,373 1,671 1,403 1,578 1,323 
			  Maximum sentence of four years — 2 — — — 
			 Having an article with blade or point on school premises(4) Immediate custody 4 4 10 7 4 
			  Maximum sentence of four years — — — — — 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) An offence under Criminal Justice Act 1968 S.139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.3. (4) An offence under Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (1K5)(a) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S,4(1). (5) Following further validation and receipt of additional magistrates court records, a number of revisions have been made to previously published 2011 information. As such, 2011 figures may not match what was previously provided. Note: Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice.

Legal Aid Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made, in calculating the likely costs or savings arising from his Transforming Legal Aid proposals, of the possibility of (a) increased applications for permission for judicial review and (b) increased applications for costs from public authority opponents, if lawyers are not paid unless permission for judicial review is granted; what the evidential basis was for that assessment; and if he will make a statement. [Official Report, 12 September 2013, Vol. 567, c. 13-14MC.]

Helen Grant: At around £2 billion a year we have one of the most expensive legal aid systems of its type in the world. The consultation paper ‘Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system’, contained a range of measures aimed at reducing the cost of and promoting public confidence in the legal aid scheme, including a proposal that providers would only be paid for work on an application for permission to proceed with a judicial review if permission is granted by the court.
	We are concerned that legal aid is currently being used to fund applications for permission for judicial review in weak cases which are unsuccessful and which have little effect other than to incur unnecessary costs for the public.
	As part of our consultation we have published an impact assessment which is available at:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid
	As noted in the impact assessment, under our proposal set out in the consultation paper the provider would need to make an assessment of whether the application is arguable and therefore permission should be applied for. There may therefore be a fall in permission applications made. This may reduce the number of cases the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) need to process and reduce the number of hours required in court for these cases with an associated saving for Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). We have also noted in our assessment that there is the potential for an increase in requests for reconsideration of the permission application at a hearing, or onward permission appeals to the Court of Appeal where permission has been refused, which may result in an impact on HMCTS from reconsidering the applications.
	In both circumstances however this is unquantifiable as the behavioural response of providers and clients is unknown.
	Regarding possibility of increased applications for costs from public authority opponents, it is already the case that providers should generally agree costs as part of a settlement or seek a costs order form the court, as they would if acting for a privately paying client. This is set out in paragraph 6.58 of the 2013 Standard Civil Contract General Specification.
	The consultation closed on 4 June 2013 and we intend to publish a Government response shortly.

Lost Property

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) laptops, (b) memory sticks, (c) mobile telephones and (d) iPads have been lost by his Department in 2012-13.

Helen Grant: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Harrow West (Mr Thomas) on 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 170W.
	Additionally, (d) no iPads were lost or stolen from the Ministry of Justice in 2012-13.

Offenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were (a) remanded in custody and (b) granted bail in each month since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The issue of bail is for the courts to decide following clearly set out procedures. The statutory structure is provided primarily by the Bail Act 1976, which creates a general presumption to bail for all defendants involved in criminal proceedings with certain exceptions.
	The number of defendants remanded in custody and the number granted bail in each month at all courts in England and Wales between 1 May 2010 and 31 December 2012 (latest currently available) is shown in the table.
	The proportion of those suspects granted bail has remained constant throughout this period.
	
		
			 Defendants remanded in custody and defendants remanded on bail at all courts(1) in England and Wales, by month(2), 2010-12(3) 
			 Number 
			 Year/remand status/court type Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Total 
			 2012              
			 Remanded in custody(4)              
			 Magistrates courts 1,816 1,859 1,908 1,683 2,185 1,785 1,959 2,009 1,902 2,010 1,886 1,511 22,513 
			 The Crown court 3,314 3,370 3,736 3,010 3,484 3,053 3,296 3,228 3,003 3,454 3,426 2,687 39,061 
			               
			 Remanded on bail              
			 Magistrates courts 18,505 17,217 17,273 14,759 17,431 15,623 17,937 17,289 16,211 18,729 17,708 12,621 201,303 
			 The Crown court 6,294 6,375 6,971 5,544 6,101 5,246 5,681 5,586 5,280 5,952 5,911 3,913 68,854 
			               
			 2011(5)              
			 Remanded in custody(4)              
			 Magistrates courts 1,881 1,835 2,007 1,606 1,889 2,164 1,956 2,074 2,121 1,927 2,114 1,810 23,384 
			 The Crown court 3,528 3,745 4,102 3,211 3,630 3,651 3,768 3,493 3,979 3,732 3,885 3,702 44,426 
			               
			 Remanded on bail              
			 Magistrates courts 19,406 18,349 20,163 16,090 18,171 19,153 18,705 18,538 18,658 18,115 18,167 13,917 217,432 
			 The Crown court 6,883 6,779 7,516 5,816 6,350 6,543 6,734 6,101 6,867 6,179 6,595 5,451 77,814 
			               
			 2010              
			 Remanded in custody(4)              
		
	
	
		
			 Magistrates courts 2,829 2,468 2,587 2,238 2,122 2,280 2,312 2,073 2,147 1,947 1,999 1,608 26,610 
			 The Crown court 3,032 3,333 3,862 3,103 3,186 3,759 4,134 3,500 3,698 3,744 4,097 3,347 42,795 
			               
			 Remanded on bail(6)              
			 Magistrates courts n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 The Crown court 5,996 6,553 7,497 6,467 6,514 6,904 7,705 6,548 7,221 6,992 7,344 5,421 81,162 
			 n/a = Not available - see footnote 6 below. (1) Includes those defendants remanded in custody or remanded on bail during proceedings at magistrates courts and those defendants remanded in custody or remanded on bail at the commencement of trial or sentence at the Crown court in England and Wales. The magistrates courts component of the data presented in this table excludes those defendants who failed to appear and those who were committed for trial or sentence at the Crown court. The remand status used for the Crown court component of the data is that recorded at the point of committal from the magistrates court to the Crown court for trial or sentence. Those who failed to appear at the Crown court are excluded from the figures presented in this table. (2) The table presents data by month based on the final date on which the defendants appeared in court and proceedings were concluded. The date on which the court made remand decisions on those defendants is not held centrally, with remand decisions potentially made at an earlier stage during proceedings in previous months. (3) The magistrates courts component of the data presented in this table are estimated. (4) Including those remanded in custody at any stage of proceedings at magistrates courts or the Crown court who may also have been given bail at some stage of those proceedings. (5) Previously published figures for 2011 have been revised to take account of the late receipt of some data from magistrates courts. Data from the Crown court are not affected. (6) A revised process by which estimates of the number of defendants bailed at magistrates courts is only possible to apply to magistrates courts data relating to 1 January 2011 onwards. Therefore the figures presented in this table prior to that date include numbers of defendants bailed at the Crown court only as these data are not subject to the new estimation process applicable to the magistrates courts data. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.

Offenders: Deportation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many foreign national prisoners who had served their sentence but were awaiting deportation were in the prison system on 31 July (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013;
	(2)  how many foreign national prisoners who had served their sentence but were awaiting deportation were in HM Prison (a) Brixton, (b) Wandsworth, (c) Feltham, (d) Isis, (e) Wormwood Scrubs, (f) Pentonville and (g) Belmarsh on 31 July (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013.

Jeremy Wright: The Government is committed to increasing the removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) in our prisons. The proportion of FNOs serving sentences in prison remains broadly stable. The following table shows the number of Immigration detainees held in prison at the beginning of August in 2010; 2011; 2012; and 2013.
	
		
			  2 August 2010 1 August 2011 6 August 2012 5 August 2013 
			 Total number of immigration detainees held in prison estate 536 491 625 916 
			 Of which: held in     
			 Belmarsh 8 14 7 10 
			 Brixton 10 19 1 13 
			 Feltham 3 5 14 14 
			 Isis (1)0 1 5 6 
			 Pentonville 15 12 25 55 
			 Wandsworth 39 45 25 49 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 15 £5 22 31 
			 (1) Isis opened in July 2010

Prisoner Escapes

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many escaped prisoners since 1997 escaped from (a) public prisons, (b) private prisons, (c) courts, (d) secure hospitals, (e) prisoner transit and (f) other areas;
	(2)  for how long each escaped prisoner has been at large; from what category of prison each such prisoner escaped; and for what offence they were imprisoned.

Jeremy Wright: The total number of escapes from custody has been falling since 1995 when central records began, despite an increasing prison population.
	Numbers of escapes from prisons, contractor escort, prison escort and of Category A prisoners are published annually by financial year and establishment on the gov.uk website. Details of the number of escapes from 1995-96 to 2012-13 can be found at the following link.
	Details of individual offences and the period spent unlawfully at large for all prisoners who have escaped are not held centrally in a form that can be interrogated readily. To provide these details would require manual interrogation of different sets of electronic records which would be at disproportionate cost.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls
	Notes:
	1. Escapes from contractors’ escorts include those occurring at court and in transit.
	2. Escapes occurring from prison escort may also occur in transit or at the destination of the escort e.g. hospital out-patients of accident and emergency units. The exact location of these escapes could be obtained only by manual interrogation of the electronic incident reports which would be at disproportionate cost.
	3. Escapes from secure hospital are the responsibility of the Department of Health and are therefore not included in these statistics.

Prisons: Exercise

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to introduce a charge for prisoners to use gyms and swimming pools in prisons.

Jeremy Wright: The Prison Act 1952 sets out the statutory requirements for physical education (PE) and the legal minimum provision of one hour a week for adults (Prison Rules 1999, Rule 29) and two hours a week for young offenders (Young Offender Rules 2000, Rule 41).
	The National Offender Management Service promotes participation in PE and Prison Service Instruction 58/2001 Physical Education for Prisoners specifies the requirement for fair and equal access to PE facilities for all prisoners, including young offenders.
	There are no current plans to introduce charging of prisoners for the use of gyms and swimming pools in prisons and young offender institutions.
	We have announced significant changes to the policy framework of the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme, which operates in all prisons. The new arrangements will be implemented across the adult estate. Under the revised IEP policy, from November, access to exercise facilities above the minimum allowance will have to be earned by engaging with the regime and demonstrating commitment to their rehabilitation, as well as demonstrating good behaviour. Any such access must take place outside the core working day.
	PE in prisons focuses on rehabilitation and reducing reoffending through a range of structured activities and intervention programmes and should not be confused with community participation in leisure activities. Prisoners are encouraged to address their offending behaviour, adopt healthy lifestyles, gain employability skills/qualifications and tackle substance misuse issues, PE supports those prisoners with physical and mental health issues by providing the opportunity for modified PE activity and reduces health inequalities by providing access for all prisoners.

Public Records

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will publish a list of records of papers that have been retained for an extended period on the grounds of risk of prejudice to national security which were subsequently released;
	(2)  on which occasions papers have been withheld for more than 30 years under section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since implementation of that Act;
	(3)  on which occasions papers have been withheld for over 30 years under the Public Records Act 1958.

Helen Grant: Central records are not held listing the total number of papers that have been retained under the Public Records Act 1958 (PRA) for an extended period (including on national security grounds) and subsequently released, or the number of occasions papers have been withheld for more than 30 years under section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
	Therefore it would be possible to provide any part of this information only at disproportionate cost following research undertaken by all bodies subject to the PRA and FOIA.

EDUCATION

Children: Day Care

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children entitled to free childcare on 1 October (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 in (i) East Hampshire constituency and (ii) Hampshire, as a result of the extension of the free childcare scheme announced on 2 September 2013.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department estimates that around 2,150 two-year-olds in Hampshire are likely to be eligible for the first phase of the programme, introduced at the beginning of September 2013; and that some 4,440 two-year-olds in Hampshire will be eligible from September 2014.
	No such estimate has been made for the East Hampshire constituency.

Directors

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place in the Library a copy of each of his Department's non-executive board member's entry in the Register of Interests.

Elizabeth Truss: A copy of the Register of Interests is available for inspection upon request. Details of how to make this request are included in the Department's Consolidated Annual Report and Accounts, which were laid in Parliament on 17 July 2012.

GCSE: English Language

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that teachers are held accountable for the teaching of speaking and listening skills at Key Stage 4 English and English Language after Ofqual's decision to remove the Speaking and Listening Assessment from GCSE English and GCSE English Language.

Elizabeth Truss: The assessment of speaking and listening has not been removed from GCSE English and English Language. Students' speaking and listening skills will be reported separately on the GCSE certificate alongside the GCSE grade, giving a more detailed picture of students' achievements than under the previous arrangements.
	Ofsted will continue to hold schools to account for their teaching of English, including speaking and listening. The Department for Education will consider making available the results of the separate assessment of speaking and listening through its new Data Portal.

National Curriculum Tests

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, columns 530-32W, on National Curriculum tests, what specific disruptions and risks to the delivery of Key Stage 2 tests occurred in 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: The specific disruption encountered during the delivery of key stage 2 tests in 2012 was the number of registrations for the level 6 tests during the two weeks before test week. About 25% of total registrations were made during this time, which was well in excess of the number of registrations expected at this time.
	One of the challenges and risks to operational delivery arising from this was the manufacture and delivery of a significant amount of test materials to schools in a very short space of time.

National Curriculum Tests

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, columns 530-32W, on National Curriculum tests, how many individual schools were involved in the 240 complaints.

Elizabeth Truss: A total number of 178 schools made a formal complaint to the Standards and Testing Agency about National Curriculum tests.

National Curriculum Tests

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, columns 530-32W, on National Curriculum tests, what specific criteria for late applications to be permitted after the deadline exist.

Elizabeth Truss: Schools that report exceptional circumstances before the deadline—including technical issues and serious tragedies—may be permitted late registrations. Schools with new children arriving after the deadline may also be permitted late registrations.

National Curriculum Tests

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  on how many occasions an incorrect number of test papers has been delivered to schools by the Standards and Testing Agency;
	(2)  on how many occasions an incorrect number of test papers has been printed by the Standards and Testing Agency.

Elizabeth Truss: Sufficient quantities of test papers were printed and distributed to schools. The quantities are based on the information schools provide during the test orders and pupil registration windows.

Public Appointments

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many appointments and reappointments he has made to public bodies since May 2010; and which candidates for those posts have declared political activity since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: Since May 2010, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has made a total of 33 new appointments and 10 reappointments to public appointment positions within its public bodies. These are all non-civil servant appointments.
	Declarations of political affiliation by public appointees have been recorded since April 2012. Those records indicate that five public appointees declared a political affiliation: Alan Milburn, Gillian Shephard, Christian Guy, Francis Plowden and Neil O'Brien.

Public Expenditure

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on staff (a) training and away days, (b) foreign travel and (c) refreshments in the last three years.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table provides a breakdown of the cost of staff training and of foreign travel for staff in the last four years. The Department does not hold data on staff away days or staff refreshments.
	
		
			 £ 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Staff training 1,278,488 1,231,719 539,809 677,146 
			 Staff foreign travel 62,920 38,515 128,021 109,624 
		
	
	Data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are not comparable with data for 2011-12 and 2012-13. This is because, from 2011, the Department assumed responsibility for some international work previously discharged by the DWP.

School Meals

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what timetable he has set for the testing and introduction of revised standards for school food.

Elizabeth Truss: Following the publication of the school food plan, work is under way between officials in the Department and the plan's authors to finalise the timetable for testing and introducing the revised standards for school food. These discussions are based on the timetable set out in chapter eight of the school food plan.

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) maintained schools, (b) non-academy schools, (c) converter academy schools, (d) sponsor-led academy schools and (e) academies secured access to independent careers service provision from an external provider in the 2012-13 school year.

Matthew Hancock: The Department does not collect data on how schools secure and deliver careers guidance or the number or proportion doing so through different routes. The Education ct 2011 placed schools under a duty to secure access to independent and impartial careers guidance for their pupils in years 9 to 11. In September 2013, the duty was extended to include all registered pupils in years 8 to 13.
	Please find below a link to the Inspiration Vision Statement, published on 10 September 2013, which sets out the Government's vision for improving the guidance young people receive on their education options and future careers:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/238841/bis-13-1176-inspiration-vision-statement-R2.pdf
	A copy has been placed in the House Library.

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of his Department's jobs have been relocated from London to each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Standards and Testing Agency

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how often Ministers of his Department meet officials of the Standards and Testing Agency; and when the last such meeting was.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) and his ministerial colleagues meet frequently with officials of the Standards and Testing Agency to discuss a range of topics.

Vetting

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many special advisers in his private ministerial office have developed vetting security clearance.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education determines its vetting requirements in line with Her Majesty's Government's Security Policy Framework. Information on the framework is available on the Government website(1). Copies of this document are in the House Libraries.
	For reasons of national security and Data Protection Act considerations, it would not be appropriate to disclose information which could lead to the identification of individuals who are subject to vetting.
	(1)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmg-personnel-security-controls

Young People

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average government grant is per person for (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18-year-olds in England and Wales.

Matthew Hancock: The average funding per full-time student between the ages of 16 and 18 in the 2012/13 academic year for schools and colleges in England was £5,130. 16, 17 and 18-year-olds are now funded through a single national funding formula.
	Education funding in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.

CABINET OFFICE

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many invoices were processed by his Department in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office processed 30,543 invoices in 2012-13.

Investment and Contract Readiness Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what organisations received Investment and Contract Readiness funding in the last year for which records are available.

Nick Hurd: Since 1 September 2012, the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund has committed to funding 70 front-line organisations. Information on those organisations can be found at:
	www.beinvestmentready.org.uk/about/investments

Members: Correspondence

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he intends to reply to the letter of 1 March 2013 from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North, addressed to the Minister of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and transferred to the Cabinet Office on 15 May 2013, regarding information provided on the www.gov.uk website.

Nick Hurd: The letter has been answered, I apologise wholeheartedly for the delay.

Social Incubator Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 4 March 2013, Official Report, column 821W, on Social Incubator Fund, what are the defined plans to reach outside London of the listed recipients of the Social Incubator Fund.

Nick Hurd: The Social Incubator Fund has now committed to making grants to four incubators: Wayra UnLtd, Bethnal Green Ventures, Social Incubator North and Hub Launchpad.
	In relation to Wayra UnLtd and Bethnal Green Ventures, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 12 March 2013, Official Report, column 168W.
	Social Incubator North accepts applications from businesses making a positive social or environmental impact in the north of England only. It aims to run a 'Call to the North' campaign to attract an initial cohort of beneficiaries, which will be followed by a co-ordinated mainstream and social marketing campaign. Hub Launchpad is located in London and Birmingham. It actively recruits beneficiaries from across England.

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many of his Department's jobs have been relocated from London to each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Francis Maude: No significant numbers of Cabinet Office posts have been relocated from London to the regions in the last 10 years.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

China

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to encourage the Chinese Government to take stronger action to prevent organ harvesting from Chinese prisoners.

Hugo Swire: I refer the right hon. Member to my previous answer dated 22 April 2013 to the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell), Official Report, column 633W. Our position has not changed.
	We continue to have serious concerns about reports of torture and mistreatment of detainees in China. Criminal justice reform and the rule of law, including torture prevention and treatment of detainees, has been a consistent focus of our human rights engagement with the Chinese authorities, both at ministerial level and in project work on the ground. Our embassy in Beijing has raised these allegations with the Chinese Government. We also highlighted our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2012 Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, which was published on 15 April 2013. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly denied the allegations.
	The Chinese Government has assured us that organs from executed prisoners will only be used for transplantation with their consent. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Chinese Government bilaterally and alongside international partners, and to urge the Chinese authorities to grant permission for UN Special Procedures independent experts to visit China.

Pakistan

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide an estimate of the number of Pakistanis killed by American drones, with a separate estimate of the number of civilians killed.

Andrew Robathan: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
	This a matter for the US and Pakistan, who are facing a shared and dangerous threat from terrorists.

Seven Years' War: Anniversaries

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Prime Minister has to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris 1763.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no plans to mark the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris.